U of L has finalized its non-conference schedule for the 2017 Cardinal football season by adding home games against Kent State and Murray State, according to game contracts obtained by The Courier-Journal. Louisville will also play a non-conference home game against Indiana State in 2018.
U of L will play consecutive 2017 home games against Kent State on Sept. 23 and Murray State on Sept. 30, according to contracted obtained by The Courier-Journal through an open-records request.
Kent State, a member of the Mid-American Conference, will receive a fixed guaranteed payout of $1 million from U of L to participate. It'll be Louisville's first game against the Kent State since a 10-3 loss in 1973. The Golden Flashes lead the overall series 8-9 but are 2-8 in Louisville.
Murray State, which last played U of L in 2014, will receive $500,000 for participating. That completes a 2017 non-Atlantic Coast Conference schedule that will also include a neutral-site season opener against Purdue at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sept. 2 and the traditional season-ending rivalry game at Kentucky on Nov. 25.
U of L will host Indiana State on Sept. 8, 2018, the second game of that year after it faces Alabama Sept. 1 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
So here's what U of L's future schedules currently look like:
2016
09/03 - Charlotte
09/24 - at Marshall
11/19 - at Houston
11/26 - Kentucky
2017
09/02 - Purdue (at Indianapolis, IN)
09/23 - Kent Satte
09/30 - Murray State
11/25 - at Kentucky
2018
09/01 - Alabama (at Orlando, FL)
09/08 - Indiana State
11/24 - Kentucky
2019
09/02 - Notre Dame (Labor Day)
11/30 - at Kentucky
Louisville also has date to be announced games at Notre Dame in 2020 and at home against the Fighting Irish in 2023. The Cards will face Indiana in Indianapolis on Sept. 16, 2023, and then host the Hoosiers a year later on Sept. 7, 2024.